Failure to return a mobile phone after picking it up is considered embezzlement of other people’s property, and if it reaches a certain amount, it constitutes the crime of embezzlement.
According to Article 270 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China", the crime of embezzlement refers to the act of illegally possessing other people's property, forgetting or burying other people's property for safekeeping, and refusing to return it if the amount is relatively large. .
The subject of this crime is a general subject. Any natural person who is over 16 years old and has the capacity for criminal responsibility can commit this crime. The subjective aspect of this crime must be intentional, that is, knowingly knowing that the property belongs to others and entrusting it to oneself for safekeeping, one still illegally possesses it after forgetting or burying it.
The objects of this crime are limited to three types of property:
First, property kept by others;
Second, property forgotten by others, which is different from lost property , is also different from abandoned items;
The third is the property buried by others.
Article 270
Whoever illegally takes possession of other people’s property for his or her custody, if the amount is relatively large, and refuses to return it, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, criminal detention, or fine; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than five years and shall also be fined.
Anyone who illegally takes other people’s forgotten or buried things as his own, if the amount is relatively large, and refuses to hand it over, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
This crime will only be dealt with by filing a complaint.
The starting amount for the crime of misappropriation of public funds
The starting amount for the crime of misappropriation of public funds refers to the minimum value of the object of conduct required for the crime of misappropriation of public funds, and is the degree of social harm caused by the crime of misappropriation of public funds. The transition point from illegality to crime. According to the provisions of Article 270 of the Criminal Law, the crime of embezzlement requires a relatively large amount of property to be committed. So how to determine the starting point for a relatively large amount? Some people think that the starting point for larger amounts should be based on the starting point for the crime of theft, while others think it can be based on the starting point for the crime of embezzlement.
The judicial interpretation stipulates that the standard is 10,000, and in some places the standard for filing a case is 5,000.
Since the value of property changes with wear and tear and market fluctuations, how to determine the value of the object of action? There are two main methods of calculating value:
The first is the replacement value, which is the amount required to buy a property of the same quality and quantity on the market;
The second is the depreciated value. , that is, the value of the property calculated according to a certain depreciation rate. In principle, the value of the subject matter should be determined based on its replacement value when the perpetrator refuses to return or hand it over.
Criteria for filing a case
The crime of embezzlement (Article 270 of the Criminal Law) refers to the illegal possession of other people’s property that has been entrusted to oneself for safekeeping, forgotten, or buried for the purpose of illegal possession. Owned, the amount is relatively large, and refuses to hand it over.
The object of this crime is the property, forgotten objects or buried objects entrusted by others for safekeeping.
Extended information
Historically, the crime of embezzlement originated from Roman law around the 1st century BC. It was a property crime in the European feudal era. Until the 19th century, the crime of embezzlement It was completely separated from the crime of theft and became an independent crime.
In the laws of our country’s feudal society, situations equivalent to the crime of embezzlement are generally included in the crime of theft and are regarded as crimes of theft. Although legislation that characterizes and punishes the crime of embezzlement has long existed in my country during the Warring States Period, the earliest legislation that clarified the crime of embezzlement as an independent crime and stipulated an independent statutory penalty was the "Da Qing Criminal Code". Subsequently, the Republic of China government There are also legal provisions for the crime of embezzlement in the criminal law.
The criminal law in ancient China was the earliest, the criminal law system was the most developed, and the criminal law concepts were the richest. Therefore, the criminal law system is the most important aspect of the ancient Chinese legal system. In the development process of the independent criminal system in ancient China, the early criminal system was the criminal system centered on theft established in the "Book of Laws". This system has been followed by the laws of the Qin and Han Dynasties in later generations.
According to the provisions of the Thieves Law in the "Dharma Sutra", "picking up" refers to the act of picking up lost items for one's own use, which was also called embezzlement at the time. In the Qin Dynasty, "misappropriation" refers to the act of taking possession of other people's property and failing to repay or return it as scheduled. However, in the Tang Dynasty, lost objects and buried objects were clearly targeted as the crime of embezzlement, and it was stipulated that "occupying other people's objects without authorization, claiming lost objects under false pretenses, failing to repay debts, failing to repay overdue debts, and deliberately mistaking them for one's own" were called embezzlement. Behavior. At that time, there were relevant regulations on the misappropriation of lost objects, buried objects, and escrow objects.
The "Great Qing Dynasty Criminal Code" in the late Qing Dynasty clarified the crime of embezzlement as a type of crime in Chapter 34, and included it in Articles 370 and 300 of Chapter 34. In Articles 71 and 372, the word "appropriation" is clearly defined as a crime. And the crime of embezzlement is defined as "the act of infringing upon the property rights, pledge rights and other property rights of others, or occupying one's own property or ownership in good faith in accordance with the order of the government." It can be seen from the above that in ancient my country, although there were relevant provisions on the crime of embezzlement very early, it is very difficult to give a complete definition.
From the perspective of the expression of embezzlement, the scope of the crime of embezzlement in ancient my country mainly includes the following categories:
①The act of illegally picking up other people’s lost or buried objects is embezzlement. Behavior;
② Possession of other people's escrow property and failure to repay it on time, or non-return;
③ Use other people's escrow property without authorization, falsely claiming that it was lost, and not repaying debts , not returning it, deliberately mistaking it for your own behavior.
④Theft and embezzlement. It can be seen that the ancient provisions on the crime of embezzlement were very extensive.
The above situations can all be included in the scope of the crime of embezzlement in ancient my country.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia - Crime of Embezzlement